Good to know. I use them all the time. But how do you know this was the problem for sure?

 

With the 33910, the engine would not gain RPM due to the absolute positive compression type seal around the inner pickup on the filter housing. There was solid rubber from the top of the filter housing to the inner filter creating compression from top to bottom. Fuel had nowhere to go except through the filter. All you have to do is compare the seals and you'll see the difference. The new seal design allows for the inner seal to be pushed inward when the filter is installed and is about an inch from the top of the housing. The CP3 is a strong pump, thereby negating any resistance of a rather, in my opinion, flimsy seal that is anything but solid. The new seal only surrounds the " pickup tube " with a thin lip of maybe .050 thickness vs an inch or more on the seal used on the 33910. If the motor runs at highway speed, then it is getting fuel from somwhere and the only way that can happen is past that seal.

 

With the 33910 All you have to do is compare the seals and you'll see the difference. .

Jim, just read your post and went out to the shop where I still had one of the old filters as well as a pair of the new ones. I had not compared these as I still have one of the 33910. MAN... what a difference in the seals, I'm glad you pointed this out and I can see what you mean by flimsy seal and on top of that, how do you prime this rascal without cross contamination. I'm not comfortable with this new filter seal, especially after what happened to you. These new filters are definitely going back.
Thanks for the heads-up.

 

I have about 7 NAPA 33910 filters, keep a couple in my truck for those "bad fuel station days". Guess I should hang on to 'em???

 

all of ours are 3960XEs and I too noticed the very thin seal on them. But whether or not it cause any issues I cant say.

 

By the way, nice work on your "legal" description of the problem. I hope they reimburse you. If they don't, let me know. Keep us posted. This has the potential to be a big problem for them.

 

Interesting.

 

X.............2
i only use the Racor filters,they've served me well!Sorry to hear of your troubles!

 

[QUOTE .......I became aware of the problem only when I pulled into a rest area and the engine idled down below 1200RPM. .[/QUOTE]


WOW, that is the same thing that happened to me and it was also a wix filter, wish I would have read this before. Now my truck won't even start.

 

[QUOTE .......I became aware of the problem only when I pulled into a rest area and the engine idled down below 1200RPM. .

WOW, that is the same thing that happened to me and it was also a wix filter, wish I would have read this before. Now my truck won't even start.[/QUOTE]



I think I have the same problem as 02max and I also have a Wix.

 

I have one and I made my fastest 1/4 mile pass to date with it. Its been on for 5k with no issues.

 

I wish you good luck.
Sounds like you have been lucky....so far.

See post below on square inches of filter material.............

 

I put a Wix filter on and now It seems like I have air in the line,very once in awhile the truck won't start and I have to prime it and then she fires up..I checked around the filter to see if I have any fuel leaks but its good. With all the filters I used in the past I had no problems..This thread is good to know about...I don't know if my problem can be related to this thread..

 

What about the Fram and AFE fuel filters?? Do they have bad seals too??

 

I think the AFE is the racor, not sure about the Fram.
Someone else may have that information..

 

I just finished cutting open and comparing a Wix 33910 (aka Racor PFF5544) and the new Wix 33960.
There is quite a difference in the pleating and the diameter of the inner filter.
The Racor element, though just a bit shorter, is much larger in diameter, is a two stage with an inner and outer element and has numerous pleats
The new wix element is a bit taller but much smaller in diameter with far fewer pleats, ie less filtering ability,you need to see it to believe it. If I can get the phone data cable to transfer the pictures, I'll post them

Dia
wix 2.9 inches
racor 3.75

Ht
wix4.52
racor 3.52

# of pleats
wix70
racor131 outer
racor82 inner

depth of pleat
wix.61
racor .53 outer
racor.51 inner

Length of filter materia
l wix88 in
racor131 outer
racor81 inner

Filter area sq in
wix397.76
racor461.12 outer
racor285.12 inner

Total sq in

wix 397.76


racor746.24

And of course the biggest difference is the inner seal !

 

That is the old Racor part number, they have since upgraded their filter and the part number is PFF50216. They now use a coalescing filter media as well as the standard media. Below is a picture of what the new ones look like inside.

 

BIOTEC. Just email the picture like you were sending it in a picture message. only instead of a phone number, put the email address :drink

 

I don't have email on the phone, have to link it with a data cable to the computer, then here.

 

Terrific. I have a whole damn case of them.

 

Ok so what i've noticed is that all the fuel filters that have bad seals are the ones that have plastic cases. The metal cases are the racor filters. For example ACdelco, AFE, fram.
So don't use the plastic fuel filters only the metal ones.

 

When I bought the wix and saw that it was plastic,I wasn't too sure but tried it anyways. I think filters should be metal anyways..I had fram on for about a year and no problems...

 

I thought wix was sopposed to be good and that was why I put one on my truck so now after reading this I wont buy them again and just use Ac Delco..I'm worried about damage to my motor..

 

The 33960 and the 33910 is what Ive run for the entire 35,000 miles I've put on my truck. Never had one problem. I think this may be an isolated occurrence.

 

Play it safe?



Just a thought: Any contaminated fuel could be an isolated case for some. If you don't get any dirt in your fuel you don't need a filter at all so any quality filter will seem to work-until.... I am a newbie and don't want to take a chance so I am taking this information seriously.

 

Gettin this thread back into circulation guys... I just came across it. I've been having problems with my fuel system (no starts, having to prime, etc.) and now surges and idle, so I need an FPR. I'm not sure FPR and the filter are related though, given that my truck has 95k miles.

Fuel system only began to have problems after using this filter. Will be replacing with racor tomorrow.

 

Mine had 160K + on it when the FPR went out due to the Wix problem. I know for a fact the filter was the problem as had been running the NAPA 33910 (mfg by Racor) and only when the switch was made to the Wix mfg NAPA 33960 did the FPR all of a sudden fail. According to the threads I have read, the FPR problem is a gradual one, not a matter of 10 days
I have been running Racor ever since and no more problems. Just compare the center seals on the Wix and the Racor....big difference.
Cut them open and do a comparrison....even bigger difference, twice the filter area.

 

My LB7 I recently sold was showing signs of the FPRV needing replacing, and it had a Racor filter on it. Personally, I dislike the Racor because of the ridges along the top and had difficulty getting the o-ring to seal. It took about 3 attempts to get it screwed on so fuel didn't leak. I've ordered WIX filters for the new truck...

The point is, waiting to see more data before jumping to conclusions.

 

The FPR can be affected by fuel type, mileage or time. But quickest way to have it fail is with contaminated fuel.The problem with the Wix occurs when the filter becomes restricted and fuel bypasses the flimsy center lip seal. The Racor is a thick compression seal, can't contaminate.
The 1st, 3rd,11th,16th and 24th posts in this thread are a good reference to the problem as well as numerous other posts on this forum about this very problem. Since the initial post, we have seen several other trucks with the same problem. As I mentioned earlier, the problem occurs when the Wix gets restricted and by then, it is too late. It cost me and a couple of others on this thread an FPR. It cost my buddy a set of injectors.

 

You guys are talkin about the center seal in the filter correct ?? Sounds like the racor coalescent filters are ok. New to diesels and did my first filter change awhile back. that center seal was pretty massive and took some effort to get onto the filter assy.

 

The center seal on the RACOR is a compression seal and yes it is massive compared to the flimsy Wix. When the RACOR filter becomes restricted from contaminants, the engine looses power, RPMs drop and transmission shifting is affected. THIS IS NORMAL WITH THE RACOR/ A/C DELCO FILTERS, THIS IS AN INDICATION THAT THE FILTER NEEDS TO BE CHANGED. 99%+ of the time, when the truck acts like this, it's the filter. You don't have to take my word for it, read the threads posted on the Dmax Forum concerning loss of power, once the filter is changed , no more problems.
The Wix does not do this. It allows the engine to continue on unfiltered fuel and when you have a power loss, now your talking FPR, injectors, CP3 or possibly more.
At the time of the first post in this thread, the Wix 33960 and 33960XE were new and not widespread in use. Now that they have been out there for awhile, we have seen more problems come in our shop concerning contamination....so far, ALL of them have been Wix related
The center seal is the problem with the wix, not to mention that they use a smaller filter internally....smaller housing, smaller filter to fit inside the smaller housing.

 

all i know is i use the premium wix filter , and it does fine to me. they offer two diff.kinds and i get the more exsp. one.i have a 08 chevrolet crew cab,4x4.so far i havn't had a problem

 

Wow!!!! thks for letting me know i use this type filter.i will change this filter this weekend.

 

BIOTEC, can I ask if you've noticed a pattern in the filter change interval on the trucks you have seen with this issue on the Wix filter? I.e., it seems to happen after 15k on the filter, 20k, or maybe as low as 5k? Just asking, to see if some of us who do very regular filter changes are as much at risk as trucks where it may be neglected for a longer time period.

Thanks.

 

As I stated earlier, the wild card is: you never know when you will get a bad load of fuel. The particular problem my buddy had with his truck with the injectors was around 4,500 miles so a 5,000 mile change interval would not have made any difference, likewise the problem with our service truck was around 2,700 miles so a 3,000 mile change interval would not have prevented the problem.....but I'm convinced that if we had been running a Racor, we would have had the small inconvenience of having to change the filters rather than FPRs and injectors.

 

I carry a couple of 33910s (older type) in the truck for spares. Are they OK? Never had any problems running them.

 

3910 and 33910 are manufactured by RACOR (PFF5544)
It is a very good filter

 

Yes Wix does make 2 versions of this filter 33960 (paper media) and 33960X (fiberglass media) but both have the same center seal i have been running the 33960x only issue i had was the last time i changed the filter the wif sensor port was out of spec the wif sensor slipped right past the theads of the filter. i took it back and they called wix right away while i was there. this sucks to here about the center seal issues i liked this filter. Is Wix the only one that makes a plastic cased filter?

 

The Wix case is actually glass resin and they make that filter in their own plant. They also mfg for others, same filter, same center seal, same problems.
I have not cut open a 33960XE but I did compare the 33960 to the Racor PFF5544 (old 33910) and the difference is considerable. The Wix 33960 looks like it should go on a lawnmower, it is so small. The Racor fills the inside of its case and sq footage on the Racor is almost double that of the Wix. Also the Wix is a single micron filter where the Racor is a dual micron filter.

 

Also, what can I do to help maximize my FPR life after this fuel contamination? I started using lucas injector cleaner in the fuel... I read that some person had bad balance rates, then started using injector cleaner and everything went back to normal. I believe he was using stanadyne (sp?) though...

Is it correct to believe that any damage to the FPR will result in a case of exponentiating problems/symptoms and eventual failure?